Top of the class! Gray Collegiate boys sink Oceanside in SC state championship game
There was a little added pressure for Dion Bethea and the Gray Collegiate boys basketball team before they took the court Friday night.
Bethea and the Gray players watched the girls win their first state championship and wanted to make sure they delivered a sweep. The War Eagles did just that as they defeated Oceanside Collegiate, 53-43, to win the Class 2A title at USC Aiken Convocation Center.
It’s the fifth championship in six years for the War Eagles and first time the school’s basketball teams swept Class 2A.
“Gray girls coach Brandon Wallace was on our staff for the last five years. He put a lot of pressure on me,” Bethea said. “So we had to to make sure we could get it done. I’m happy for all of our kids at Gray Collegiate Academy. It is truly a family there.”
The championship capped off an emotional several weeks for the boys program. Gray guard Mychael Mitchell had an on-court seizure during the game against Keenan on Jan. 17. Mitchell came back and was in the starting lineup on Friday.
Assistant coach Louis Dreher was recently diagnosed with colon cancer and is in the middle of chemotherapy but was on the bench for Gray throughout the postseason. Dreher, the former Eau Claire assistant and head coach, is supposed to have his last treatment on March 21.
It was the second straight year Gray defeated a charter school in the title game. The War Eagles survived a final shot from York Prep last season and then defeated Oceanside, a sister school of Gray, this year.
Oceanside, located in Mount Pleasant, was making its first championship appearance.
Braylhan Thomas and Avantae Parker each had 13 points to lead Gray. Thomas was a late-season addition after transferring from 1-of-1 Academy in North Carolina.
The junior had 10 points in the Upper State championship win last week against Keenan and then scored all 13 of his points in the second half Friday night.
“The team, they brought me in, loved me and we clicked fast,” Thomas said. “We were just locking in as a team, fighting to get better every day in practice and everything.”
Parker, who was held to eight points last week, looked more like the all-state performer in the title game. The Georgia Southern signee was a force down low, grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking three shots.
“This game, we knew there was no one on the floor who could guard me,” Parker said. “That was the game plan and me making good decisions, getting my teammates involved.”
Class 2A Player of the Year Montraivis White added eight points and five assists for Gray.
Gray trailed early in the third quarter but went on a 14-4 run over the final 6:25 to lead 39-30 going into the fourth.
The War Eagles led by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter before Oceanside’s comeback. LandSharks guard Reid Warden hit a 3-pointer to cut Gray’s lead to 45-41 with 1:56 left.
But Mitchell hit a free throw and then Thomas had two straight baskets to make it 50-41 with 25.5 seconds left.
Calvin Davinroy led Oceanside with 10 points.
“We wanted to get this championship,” Bethea said. “Oceanside has a great team and really pushed us, but we pushed back and getting it done.”
GC: White 8, Maddox 5, Mitchell 7, Avantae Parker 13, McDuffie 1, Johnson 2, Braylhn Thomas 13, Pauling 2, Britt 2. OC: Stevens 4, Rivers 6, Warden 9, Stickney 9, Calvin Davinroy 10, Rook 5.
This story was originally published March 3, 2023 at 10:42 PM.
